The National Technical Information Service (NTIS) bibliographic database

NTIS, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, in Springfield, Virginia, is the central source for the public sale of U.S. government-sponsored research, reports and electronic products such as bibliographic databases, numeric and statistical data files, computer software and Compact Disk Read Only Memory (CD-ROM). NTIS is a unique U.S. government agency sustained only by its sales revenue.     

The National Technical Information Service - Working to Strengthen U.S. Information Sources

The National Technical Information Service (NTIS) is a self-supporting agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce that actively collects, organizes, and distributes technical information generated by United States and foreign governments in all areas of science and technology. There are two million titles in the NTIS permanent archives, some of which date as far back as 1945, and last year NTIS added 63,000 new titles to its collection. The entire collection is available at any time - whether a report dates from 20 years ago or last month. In addition, NTIS provides government generated computer software and computerized data files on both tape and diskette through its Federal Computer Products Center. To keep pace with technology transfer activities, the NTIS Center for the Utilization of Federal Technology licenses Federal inventions and makes them available to private industry and prepares and issues a number of publications, catalogs, and directories announcing Federal technologies and resources. In the area of foreign technology, NTIS has recently increased its holdings - up to a third of the reports entering the collection are now from foreign sources.     

Are the national technical information service's prices too high?

Some have claimed that prices charged by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) for its information products and services are inappropriately high. The National Technical Information Service commissioned a study, carried out by the author, to determine whether these claims were substantiated. The study focused on 15 selected information products and services, and asked whether prices for these products were too high relative to NTIS' costs, relative to prices for comparable commercial products, and relative to prices for comparable products from the Government Printing Office (GPO). NTIS breaks even in the aggregate, showing neither profit nor loss at the end of the year, although individual products may be priced higher or lower than cost. NTIS prices appeared to be competitive with comparable private sector prices, and 17 executives from information industry firms believed NTIS prices were about right or not too high. For comparable products from GPO, NTIS prices tend to be lower because of administrative decisions to underprice GPO. The study examined, in greater depth, issues surrounding two new information products, Big Emerging Markets and World News Connection. NTIS prices are not too high relative to costs, to comparable commercial products and GPO products.     

Technical reports and non-depository publications

Documents Librarina, Colorado State University Libraries, Fort Collins, CO 80523-0002. USA There was a significant increase in the number of publications disseminated by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) during 1993. This continues the trend of the past few years. NTIS continues to receive and distribute federally funded research and development reports, which are abstracted in Government Reports Announcements and Index (GRA&I) and related abstracts. In 1993 the way in which government information is disseminated changed, and as a result the role of librarians in this process has been critically examined. The trend toward more information being distributed in electronic format continues. Internet access to legislative information is now available, and many agencies are developing Internet sites to provide access to their data. New rules were published in a January 1994 Federal Register to transfer to NTIS unclassified scientific, technical, and engineering information (STEI) resulting from federally funded research and development activities. In response to comments on the proposed rules, NTIS incorporated into their plan the dissemination of these publications to depository libraries. In June, the Federal Deposiory Library Program proposed an interagency agreement with NTIS that would facilitate the distribution of these documents to the depositories. If this agreement is signed, it would result in a plan that would take advantage of the selection and distribution systems already in place in the Depository Library Program. It would make it much easier for depository libraries to select the STEI that they need and to ensure that the publications are made available to the public. All of the publications reviewed below were published in 1993. Technical reports are available from NTIS, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield. VA 22161, USA; the publications may also be obtained from the issuing agencies. 1 wish to thank Fred C. Schmidt (FCS), Head, Documents Department; Lou E. Anderson (LEA), Documents Librarian; and Awilda Reyes (AR), Documents Librarian, all of Colorado State University Libraries, for reviews contributed to this column.     

Florida's response to serving citizens in the information age

The Florida Legislature created the Joint Committee on Information Technology Resources for the purpose of, in part, analyzing the impact of advances in information technology on the Florida Public Records Law. In responding to the U.S. Information Industry Association's recently promulgated access principles for state and local government, the author found that although Florida does not actively encourage a diversity of information sources, such diversity is an indirect result of the state's long tradition of open access. The public's right of access is now guaranteed in Florida by a new constitutional amendment that guarantees every person the right to inspect or copy the public records of all three branches of Florida government.Florida's law is silent about an agency's obligation to provide a public record in a particular medium. However, the Joint Committee has proposed legislation that would require an agency to provide a copy of a public record in the medium requested. Additionally, the proposed legislation would allow a reasonable fee for costs for the labor and overhead associated with duplicating or copying a computer database; current law allows only the actual cost of duplication. In an effort to insure equal and timely access, this legislation also contains a provision that requires agencies to consider public access and redaction of exempt information in the design and development of all electronic recordkeeping systems.In an attempt to avoid monopoly control over public information, the author sponsored legislation last year that would have repealed Florida's law allowing the copyright of agency-created software. The Joint Committee's proposed legislation has a provision that would assure meaningful access to data controlled by proprietary software and would also preclude an agency from entering into any contract that would impair the right of the public to inspect and copy public records.     

NTIS as a Social Science Resource

This paper traces the history of the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), charting its growth from a purely scientific and technical report center into a social science information resource as well. Acquisition criteria and some typical sources of social science and information processed by NTIS are discussed. Indexing practices and subject classification os particular interest to social scientists are reviewed. The relationship between NTIS and the Government Printing Office (GPO) is explained.     

The European commission's online public databases

In the context of its role in providing the day-to-day administration of the European Union, the European Commission is responsible both for stimulating the development of interactive electronic information services in Europe and for providing public online databases of information on the Union's activities. Following a brief survey of the background to the Commission's activities, this article outlines the Union's current telecommunications policy and the ongoing transition towards closer integration of the various telecommunications networks in Europe. It then describes the various practical arrangements for obtaining access to the Commission's online services, presents two of its programmes, which are intended to stimulate the professional use of electronic information services, and lists the various databases that it provides for public access.     

Managing federal information technology: Conflicting policies and competing philosophies

Despite congressional initiatives and the Clinton administration's increased attention to information technology (IT) management policy, as part of its reinventing government and National Information Infrastructure (NII) initiatives, it is not evident that current IT policy initiatives will effectively address IT management problems. Nor is it evident that these efforts will result in the IT management improvements required to improve significantly Federal agency performance. This may be true because the government fails to recognize fundamental conflicts in the conceptualization of Federal IT management—conflicts perhaps best exemplified by the National Performance Review's (NPR) simultaneous call for reductions in bureaucratic red tape, reductions in the Federal workforce, limited support for IT education and training, and improved integration and oversight of IT management. After identifying some representative issues related to these program initiatives, the authors offer recommendations to improve Federal management of IT.     

Information management in federal agencies: The neglected piece of the IRM puzzle

In an attempt to highlight the importance of managing information as a corporate resource, this article presents several examples of recent attempts by Federal agencies to cope with information management issues. These examples include the Department of Defense's Corporate Information Management (CIM) program, the Federal Aviation Administration's Operational Data Management System (ODMS), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). Aspects of these information management activities are highlighted that demonstrate differential agency responses to system development needs and requirements.     

Citizens' trust in government as a function of good governance and government agency's provision of quality information on social media during COVID-19

Evidence from literature reveals that good governance practices influence citizens' attitudes and behaviours towards the government. Therefore, grounded on the good governance theory, the current study aimed to empirically examine how good governance practices promote public trust with the underlying mechanism of perceived government response on COVID-19 (PGRC) and moderating role of government agency's provision of quality information on social media (GQS). The data was collected from 491 followers of the Facebook account, Instagram, and Twitter pages of a government news agency, i.e., Associated Press of Pakistan and were analyzed using measurement and structural model by employing SmartPls 3.3.0. The results revealed a direct and indirect association of good governance practices with the public's trust in government via PGRC as mediator. Likewise, results showed that GQS interacts with PGRC and augments public trust in government. This study tried to contribute to the body of knowledge while addressing the gap related to the dearth of literature regarding government use of ICT during the COVID-19 pandemic to harvest benefits from social media while communicating with citizens on a larger scale. Moreover, the current study offers valuable practical and strategical recommendations to agencies and policymakers.     

The Second-Level Agenda-Building Function of the Xinhua News Agency

Mediated public diplomacy scholarship investigates the manner in which governments attempt to shape the framing of its leaders, people, and foreign policy in other nations’ media outlets. A growing body of literature identifies agenda-building efforts by these governments who often use state-sponsored media platforms to promote some issues and attributes as more salient than others. The current study provides a unique examination of China's use of its Xinhua News Agency as an information subsidy for US news outlets. Study results point to a limited transfer of issue salience between the Chinese news agency and the US news outlets. Non-significant findings were identified regarding attribute agenda building. The results of the study identify a significant intermedia agenda-setting effect between the US news outlets, with The New York Times serving as a conduit between Chinese and US news agendas. Results are discussed in the context of global political public relations and mediated public diplomacy scholarship.     

US government information: selected current issues in public access vs. private competition

Web information systems are having a profound effect on the way information is being disseminated today. Current technological advances have caused many government agencies to re-evaluate their practice of contracting with private sector vendors who have traditionally repackaged and marketed the agency's raw data. These new opportunities for government agencies wishing to make information publicly accessible have blurred the traditional distinctions between public and private dissemination activities. Low-cost public dissemination of information has resulted in private sector vendors arguing that public electronic distribution and publication creates unfair competition. New partnerships, such as the recent venture between the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) and the commercial search engine, Northern Light, in developing the “usgovsearch” product are also being explored. From another viewpoint, library associations are strongly supporting legislation that would broaden, strengthen, and enhance public access to electronic government information. Key issues to be discussed are: (1) the debate concerning public vs. private access to government information; (2) Does electronic access to government information eliminate the need for printed documents? and (3) Joint efforts — when should the government team up with private sector allies to charge for information services and access?     

Sharing results of federal R&D: A look at the department of energy's system for managing scientific and technical information

The Department of Energy's (DOE) scientific and technical information system, operational since the mid-1940s, is described as an example of the manner by which a large Federal R&D agency organizes, manages, and disseminates the information produced by its laboratories and contractor organizations. The role of the Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) within the DOE R&D cycle and its place in the DOE information infrastructure are outlined. OSTI's activities, products, and services are described under the following headings: management and dissemination of DOE research results; access to worldwide information on energy R&D; information management and accountability systems; and information consulting and specialized services.     

Can government’s presence on social media stimulate citizens’ online political participation? Investigating the influence of transparency,trust, and responsiveness

This paper empirically investigates the association of quality information provided by a government agency on social media and citizen’s online political participation. It further answers the why and how questions regarding the existence of this relationship by examining the mediating influence of transparency, trust, and responsiveness. The data was collected from 388 followers of the social media platforms of a government agency i.e. Punjab Food Authority and the findings of the analysis were obtained using structural equation modeling technique. The results reveal that the agency’s provision of quality information on social media was significantly related to perceived transparency, trust in agency, perceived responsiveness, and citizens’ online political participation. Moreover, the results show that perceived transparency mediates the relationship between agency’s provision of quality information on social media and citizens’ trust in agency. Additionally, trust in agency was an insignificant predictor and perceived responsiveness was a negative predictor of citizens online political participation, Also, trust in agency and perceived responsiveness suppressed the relationship between agency’s provision of quality information on social media and citizens’ online political participation. This study aims to bring awareness and contribution to the body of knowledge about the governmental use of social media and its resulting benefits since in developing countries like Pakistan the research in this area is sparse. Further, it provides strategic and practical suggestions to agencies regarding advantages of utilizing social media in their communication with citizens.     

The Impact of the Internet

Summary

The Internet has brought great changes to reference services in academic libraries. One significant impact has been the growth and evolution of the reference librarian's role as teacher. This article reviews the literature on the librarian's increased teaching role with the emergence of the Internet, discusses the changing student populations who require a librarian's instruction and the skills that students need to achieve information literacy, and reviews how the Internet has affected current teaching strategies including classroom instruction, Web-based instruction, and efforts to integrate information literacy instruction into the curriculum. In addition, it also introduces emerging Internet technologies with their potential impact on teaching and instruction. The authors conclude that the reference librarian's teaching role will further increase with the development of information technologies.     

Protecting personal data in the public sector: A Quebec commissioner's toolbox

This article explains the Quebec Commission's work in protecting personal data in the public sector. The Commission is an administrative tribunal, a regulatory agency, and an advisory body. The article examines its three most important oversight tools: the judicial revision of agencies' refusals to let a person access his/her personal data, the analysis of the declarations of personal data systems agencies are obliged to file, and the Commission's use of compliance audits.     

Government Information on the Web

Summary

Government information is abundant on the World Wide Web, but finding that information is often difficult. The usual routine of utilizing search engines or directories does not work well, unless an individual is interested in a specific government agency. Instead, the savvy librarian will be well advised to check the prominent journals and newspapers for announcements of new sites and utilize the homepage of the Library of Congress. With some education and experience, a user can quickly find information using the Library of Congress' homepage, the Librarian's Index to the Internet, and Beaucoup.     

Understanding citizens' perception of government fiscal information through a survey experiment

State and local governments regularly disclose financial information to the public so that the current financial status of the government is recognized publicly. The purpose of such disclosure is to achieve accountability and inform citizens about governments' financial decisions. Despite the efforts to improve the accessibility and readability of financial information, we do not know whether and how the financial information is processed by citizens. This study investigates how citizens assess the financial condition of governments when different financial information is presented. We conduct an online survey experiment to understand how disclosed financial information shapes citizens' perceived level of a government's fiscal stress and their attitudes toward governments' revenue-raising strategies. We find that citizens prioritize the financial indicators that they are familiar with, such as debt and surplus ratios. While both historical and social reference points play an important role, social reference is more effective in influencing citizens' perception. We only find limited evidence to support the relationship between citizens' perception of fiscal stress and their support toward governments' decisions to raise revenues.     

Federal information: Foundation for national competitiveness

The National Technical Information Service functions as a cornerstone for the Federal technological publishing structure in the United States. It is a key participant in the development of those information processes that are helping, in part, to support U.S. productivity and industrial innovation. NTIS, which recognizes the relationship between information and competiveness, links the end products of information producers to those who need them. Many complicated issues confront all of us, in terms of sharing information for greater national competitiveness. For example, what steps can be taken to ensure and improve the use of government generated scientific and technical knowledge, how can NTIS better serve more government sources and customers, and what are the implications of recent government policies in terms of technology transfer? This article explores these and related issues.